Officec



(No Model.)

P. SHAVER. MECHANICAL TELEPHONE EXCHANGE.

No. 354,942 Patented D 0,. 28, 1886..

R, PETERS, Phulo-Lithognpher. Warhingion, D C.

UNITED STATES GEORGE F. SHAVER,

PATENT OFFICEo OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

MECHANICAL-TELEPHONE EXCHANGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 354,942, dated December 28, 1886.

Application filed January E25, 1856. Serial No. 189,619. (No model.) 7'

.To aZZ whom, it ntctg/ concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. SHAVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, having invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical-Telephone Exchanges, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure .1 represents in perspective, andpartly in section, a side view of the central otlice ofsaid exchange. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of said central office. Fig. 3 represents the operators hand-telephone.

The invention relates to improvements in niechanicahtclephone exchanges from which radiate a number of wires for telephonic communication, and wherein any two wires may be connected, so that communication may be made from the fart-her end of any one of said radiating wires to the farther end of any other.

The object of my invention is, first, to provide an easy means of making such connections; second, means for keeping the wires taut when connected; third, providing means whereby many pairs of wires may be connected at the same time without interference;

fourth, providing means whereby the operator may easily connect his telephone with any line wire and tighten the wire. I attain these objects with the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings hereinbefore mentioned, in which similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The wires converging to the central station are marked X X, and they are preferably arranged at the points where they pass through the walls of the building with a diaphragm,'H, and button I, as shown in my Letters Patent No. 298,243, granted May 6, 1884. From these diaphragms they convergeto the connecting apparatus.

Each line-wire within the room of the con tral office has'a branch, 51 for connection with the operator, and each branch 3 has a signalthis frame are placed the connections of the branch lines 3 and signal-wircs Each signal wire may be connected with a battery, E, for the sending of call-signals from the central office to line; and it also has its separate reoeiving relay or magnet,F, by which the central operator is called, and I prefer to have these relays each connected with a numbered dropsignal, as illustrated in Fig. 1, by any wellknown appliance. Each branch wire passes through the aperture Gin said lower tier, D, of the frame B D, and terminates upon the frame in a hook, J ,with a suitable stop enlargement or button to keep it in place,'and to this hook J the operator connects his hand mechanical telephone K upon receiving an electric signal, in orderto ascertain with what wire connection is desired. This hand-telephone K is shown in Fig. 3, and in order to keep the branch wire y taut the frame of telephone K is attached to a handle, L, which has a projecting hook, M, which may be attached upon the fulcrum-r0d N. opposite any hook J; and thus the operator by pressing the handle L away from him will tighten the branch wire y sufficiently for acoustic purposes. The rod N should be attached within and slightly below the frame D, and the are of its circle should be concentric with that of D when the frame is circular; or when the frame is made of one or more straight sides, then the rod should be correspondingly framed.

Between the top and bottom frames, 13 D, are any suitable number of uprights, O 0, between which slide up and down, as far as the frame B D will allow, the movable supports or frames P P. Each of these supports or frames has a central aperture, through which passes a linewire, K, said line-wireterminating in a hook, Q, and a button, and I prefer to have each frame contain a central hollow space and diaphragm, as shown at It. By connecting together any two of these hooks Q with a supplemental connectingwire, Sor S, and draw' ing them taut, by means of a hanger, T, it is evident that telephonic communication can be made between any two distant stations, and as the frames 1? may be placed at any convenient height it is also evident that each pair of. wires may be connected at a different height from any other pair, thus preventing interference of the wires. These hooks Q, are also convenient for attaching the operators hand-tele phone, as shown at Z, Fig. 1, in which case the wire may be drawn taut by hand.

The method of tightening the wires is as follows: I11 the center of the circular frame 13 D is placed a spiral rod, U, rigidly supported in any suitable manner and capable of supporting at any point a tightening device, consisting, preferably, of a bent lever, V, which maybe hooked over it, as shown in Fig. 1, the fulcrum of said lever being at the point where it is hooked over the rod. Now, if the hanger T be attached to the upper short arm of this bent lever, it is evident that by depressing the long arm thereof the connecting-wire S may be tightened to any desired extent, and by means of the cord IV, passing over the end of the bent lever and secured to a cleat below it, the proper tension may be preserved. Numerous pairs of wires may thus be connected at the same time and kept taut by adjusting the frames of each pair at a different height and applying a separate lever, V, at a corresponding height upon the spiral rod U.

Instead ofa round rod, U, or in addition to the same, there may be used a stiff spiral band, X, Fig. 1, perforated at convenient points, and through such perforations the hanger Y and connecting-wire S may be attached by means ofa hook, asindicated, and the proper tension may then be given to the connecting-wire S by a tightening device consisting of a eordand pulleys, Z, the cord being secured to a cleat below.

The ends of the wires a may have, in addition to the hook Q, a separate slotted end piece, Q, Fig. 2, with a deep slot capable of holding a resilient or spring connecting-wire, S so that when a connection is desired be tween two line-wires they may be connected by inserting into the slots the spring-wire S", which will then be held in place by its own resilient tension, and will convey vibrations by the same tension from one line to the other. I do not, however, make specific claim to this construction in this application.

\Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mechanicaltelephone exchange, a

spiral support, in combination with a supplementary wire connecting two line-wires and secured to a hanger, and with a tightening device interposed between said spiral support and hanger, substantially as set forth.

2. In a mechanicaltelephone exchange, the combination of movable supports for the ends of the line-wires with a detachable supple mental wire connecting any two of said linewires, substantially as described.

3. In a mechanical-teleplione exchange, the combination of movable supports for the ends of the line-wires with a supplemental wire connecting any two of said line-wires, and a tightening device, substantially as described.

4. In a mechanical-telephone exchange, the combination of a spiral support with movable supports for the ends of the line-wires, a tie tachable supplemental wire connecting said ends, and a suitable tightening device, substantially as described.

5. In amechanical-tclephone exchange, the f combination of a frame, B D, containing a series of sliding supports for the ends of the wires, and a detachable coimectiug-wire, substantially as described.

6. In a mechanicaltelephoneexchange, the wire a: and the supplemental wire y, each ten minating within the exchange in a hook or equivalent connecting device, in combination with a movable hand-telephone having a corresponding connecting device, substantially as described.

7. In a mechanieal-telephone exchange, in combination with the fulcrum-rod N and a series of convcrgin g wires, each terminating in a hook or equivalent connecting device adjacent to said rod, the hand-telephone K, with means of attachment to any one such connectiug device, and mounted on a lever possessing means of attachment upon any part of said red as a fulcrum, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 23d day of January, 1886.

GEORGE F. SHAVER.

Witnesses:

O. WYLLvs Bri'rrs, THOMAS HUNT. 

